Teaching the past should be easier in the future as Texas social studies teachers use new material to get students ready for a more rigorous state standardized test.

Only 59 percent of eighth-grade students statewide passed the social studies portion of the exam, according to results announced last week. In Southeast Texas, the number averages between 20 and 76 percent.

In 2011, teachers received new guidelines for teaching eighth grade social studies, the first change in 12 years. They came at the same time they were beginning to prepare for the first round of STAAR testing, Debbie Ratcliffe Texas Education Agency media relations coordinator said.

"The social studies community is probably feeling the difference on the test more than other [subjects,]" she said.

Passing rates for eighth-grade social studies were lowest in all subjects for elementary and middle-school grades.

Social studies covers American history through the Civil War, and students are expected to understand historic documents including the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, Ratcliffe said.

Kenneth Milo, eighth-grade Port Arthur social studies teacher, said teaching the new curriculum was like "shooting in the dark," but he is expecting a better performance on the 2013 STAAR test.

"We now have a better grasp of the new standards and are more confident," he said.

Ratcliffe said the TAKS social studies test had a "fairly easy passing standard," compared to the STAAR, which must be completed in four hours, the first time limit placed on the test.

A new curriculum

West Orange-Cove had a 20 percent passing rate for eighth-grade social studies, making it the lowest scoring district locally.

Superintendent James Colbert said the district is making changes at both the campus and central office level.

"After receiving our test results, we are obviously disappointed. Despite this initial outcome, we are confident and committed to the plan we have in moving forward," Colbert said.

Milo, who has taught social studies for two years at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, said the new curriculum for social studies changed more than the other four subjects. And, he added, the quick change made it difficult for teachers to implement the new topics in their classroom.

"We did not receive the standards far enough in advance. It is not that the subject is more difficult than math or English," Milo said. "In fact, social studies is easier; it is just human behavior and relating it to the past."

When it comes to studying the past, it's not easy to keep every student engaged.

"You have to make the topic just as interesting as Pokemon," Milo said. "You have to trick them into learning so at the end of class they don't realize they are learning."

Pamela J. Morris, Hamshire-Fannett ISD superintendent, said the release of 2012's results just three months before 2013's test will make preparation challenging.

She said officials are working with campus principals and teachers on strategies in the coming weeks for struggling students. Morris did not release the passing rate for the district's eighth-graders in social studies.

"As superintendent, I am very proud of our students and teachers regarding their performance on the STAAR exams," she said. "It is very difficult to fully understand the results of an accountability system when we do not know the performance standards at this time."

Officials with Little Cypress-Mauriceville school district and Kirbyville CISD said they are not releasing STAAR results until Monday.

Ratcliffe said the State Board of Education and the TEA revised the curricula for math, science, reading and writing a few years ago, which gave teachers a chance to start teaching new material sooner.

She said officials recognized the passing standard was set too low on the TAKS tests, which was why the curriculum was revised.

"The basic history itself didn't change, but history is like any academic field, sometimes the fashion becomes to emphasize something more than others," she said.

When creating the new social studies curriculum, Ratcliffe said the board attempted to be more aware of the history of all Americans by covering more information regarding Hispanics and blacks.

Moving forward

Brenda Duhon, Port Neches-Groves ISD curriculum and instruction assistant superintendent, said the overall test difficulty of the social studies test included more rigorous items than on the social studies TAKS tests.

Duhon said the district - which saw a 56 percent passing rate in eighth-grade social studies - is working to make sure that one grade's work prepares students for the next and that all social studies classes in one grade are taught the same information.

"Learning has to occur beyond the school day in order to match the level of rigor in which these tests are constructed," said Dwaine Augustine, assistant superintendent for research and evaluation.

Augustine said the idea is to reengage the community and increase awareness about the challenge of the tests and what's required for graduation. Augustine said the district will also focus on improved teaching. The district will offer stipends to its teachers for after-school work to prepare lessons matching the higher level of critical thinking required by students to perform well.

"What we control more than anything as educators is what goes on day to day in the classrooms," he said. "Focus on teachers, helping teachers prepare, help them understand and provide opportunities, increased lessons, that are more engaging, that have the higher level of critical thinking."